The Diocese of Masaka, in Uganda, has confirmed the kidnapping of the Catholic priest Rev. Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira, which occurred last Wednesday, December 3, 2025, allegedly at the hands of men dressed in Ugandan Army uniforms. The incident has caused deep shock in the local Church and has reignited fear over the persistent insecurity that also affects the clergy.
According to the official statement signed by the Bishop of Masaka, Monsignor Serverus Jjumba, the priest—vicar in the Bumangi parish and director of the Uplift primary school—was abducted around one in the afternoon in the Katwe area, within the city of Masaka, while he was in his office performing pastoral and educational duties.
Shock and uncertainty about his whereabouts
Bishop Jjumba states that the kidnapping has caused pain and dismay not only in the Diocese of Masaka, but throughout the Catholic Church in Uganda, as well as in the priest’s family. To date, no official information has been provided about his whereabouts, nor have the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping been clarified.
The diocese has indicated that, together with legal advisors, it is making all the efforts within its reach to achieve the release of the priest unharmed, although it recognizes the seriousness and complexity of the situation.
Urgent call to prayer
In the face of the lack of news and growing concern, the Bishop of Masaka has asked all the priests of the diocese to pray a Triduum of the Rosary, consisting of three consecutive days of prayer with the Sorrowful Mysteries, for the release of Father Ssekabira, for the Church, and for the country.
This call has also been extended to all parishes, communities, and faithful, inviting them to join in prayer, aware that the situation exceeds human means and requires a firm and persevering spiritual response.
A place marked by the memory of suffering
The statement was issued from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, in Kitovu, a place of deep symbolic importance for the local Church. The bishop recalls that there, in 1976, during one of the most violent periods in the country’s recent history, Monsignor Clement Mukasa was kidnapped, and he was never seen again.
The situation of Christians in Uganda
Uganda is a country with a Christian majority, where approximately 85% of the population identifies as Catholic or Protestant. The Catholic Church has a broad and decisive presence in the country’s social life, especially through schools, hospitals, and charitable works, which reach millions of people.
However, this numerical majority does not translate into real security. For decades, Uganda has lived under a climate of political instability, abuses of power, and violence, which also affects religious leaders. Priests, religious, and catechists have been the object of threats, intimidations, and kidnappings, especially when their pastoral work intersects with the denunciation of injustices, corruption, or human rights violations.
Although there is no systematic religious persecution against Christians, there is a structural vulnerability, in which the weakness of the rule of law leaves many citizens—including Church ministers—exposed to arbitrary violence.